This invention relates generally to a personal fall protection system for ensuring the safety of a person requiring access to an exposed, elevated work area. More particularly, this invention relates to a personal fall protection method and system that provides continuous fall protection without restricting a worker""s mobility.
According to federal and state OSHA safety regulations, persons working in exposed, elevated work areas, such as on scaffolding structures, are required to be protected against falls over six feet. To comply with these safety regulations, personal fall arrest devices are commonly used to secure a worker to an elevated and exposed work area. One such device utilizes a body harness that is worn by the worker. A retaining ring, mounted to the dorsal portion of the body harness, is connected to one end of a lanyard. The other end of the lanyard is then tied off to a fixed anchor mounted on structure in the work area. By limiting the length of the lanyard to six feet or less, the worker is prevented from falling farther than is allowable under current OSHA regulations.
Nevertheless, conventional fall arrest devices do not always provide for adequate fall protection, especially during the erection of a scaffolding structure. Generally, a lanyard can be attached to an overhead anchor mounted to a wall or building adjacent the scaffolding. Because the range of motion for a worker is restricted by the lanyard, the lanyard must be disconnected from its anchor and then reconnected to another anchor to access a different portion of the work area. Thus, this type of fall protection is inadequate because the worker is left unprotected every time he or she is required to move beyond the range permitted by the lanyard.
To overcome this disadvantage, slidable anchors may be utilized as a means to provide a worker with a greater range of mobility. A commonly used slidable anchor comprises a generally C-shaped clamp that is adjustable to fit on the bottom or top flange of an I-beam. One end of a lanyard is connected to the clamp and the other end of the lanyard is connected to the dorsal portion of the body harness. The clamp is able to slide relative to the I-beam so that a worker can pull the lanyard and the clamp behind him as he moves fore and aft with respect to the beam. Alternatively, a safety cable system may be employed to permit access to a different portion of the work area without having to disconnect the lanyard. In such a system, a safety cable is supported by stanchion assemblies that are mounted on structure in a work area. A lanyard is slidably connected to the safety cable so that a worker can move freely with respect to the cable.
Although slidable anchors and safety cable systems provide for greater mobility, they nevertheless suffer from several disadvantages. For example, a conventional lanyard restricts the rotational movement of a worker because it is connected to a body harness at a fixed point. As a result, the lanyard will wrap around the worker""s body when the body is turned or rotated, creating a tripping hazard.
In addition, if the scaffolding is not erected adjacent to another structure, then the lanyard can only be tied off to a point on the scaffolding itself. Because scaffolding is erected from the ground upward, the only available anchoring points for the lanyard are located in the plane of the walkway. This increases the danger of tripping over the lanyard and also increases fall distance.
Further, should a worker fall off the scaffolding, it is likely that the fall would be in an outward direction, causing the worker to swing into the scaffolding at the end of the fall, causing injury. In addition, the pull of the lanyard in a fall, directed at an angle with respect to the vertical plane defined by the upright portions of the often narrow scaffolding, may pull the scaffolding over and down, causing further injury.
Not surprisingly, workers frequently opt to forego the use of existing fall protection equipment because the foregoing dangers and encumbrances created by the lanyard outweigh its potential safety aspects. In some cases, OSHA recognizes an exception to the use of conventional fall protection equipment if the employer can demonstrate that such use creates a greater hazard to the worker. Accordingly, there is a need for a new and improved fall protection apparatus that overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages of the prior art.
The present invention seeks to overcome the foregoing problems of the prior art by providing an improved personal fall protection method and system for securing a worker in an elevated, exposed work area. A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a personal fall protection system that provides continuous fall protection with minimal restriction or encumbrance of a worker""s mobility.
The invention accomplishes this objective with a fall protection system that includes a safety belt having a track that encircles the waist of a worker. At least one belt coupling is movably mounted within the track for movement relative thereto. A rail, with an anchor movable along its length, is mounted to structure at the elevated work area. The anchor receives one end portion of a lanyard, the other end portion of which is connected to the belt coupling.
Thus, the worker is secured in the work area with a lanyard that is tied off at the belt coupling and the rail anchor. Nevertheless, the worker is able to rotate independently relative to the lanyard and belt coupling as the coupling travels in the belt track, and is also able to move freely forward and backward with respect to the rail as the anchor travels on the rail. Thus, the worker is never left unprotected from a fall because the lanyard remains connected to the same rail while accessing different portions of the work area. Moreover, the lanyard is prevented from wrapping around the worker""s body because the belt coupling and the lanyard move independently of the belt as the worker turns or rotates.
One exemplary use for the fall protection system of the present invention is for providing continuous fall protection during the erection of a multi-level scaffolding structure. When the fall protection system is used during the erection of a scaffolding structure, a rail is mounted to each side of the scaffolding, usually in the plane defined by the walkway of the scaffolding. A safety belt, worn by a worker erecting the scaffolding, includes two belt couplings movable within the belt track, each connected to a different lanyard. Each lanyard extends from its belt coupling to a movable anchor on a respective rail such that the worker is tied off to both sides of the scaffolding structure. Since the effective length of each lanyard, measured from its belt coupling to a respective anchor, is shorter than the overall width of the scaffolding, the worker is prevented from falling over the open sides of the scaffolding. Because of the independent action of the belt couplings and anchors, the worker is able to rotate freely and move forward and backward within the work area between the rails without any restriction from the lanyards. In addition, the worker is protected from tripping over the lanyards because they do not require substantial slack and therefore do not drag on the walkway of the scaffolding. Further, the fall protection system provides continuous fall protection when the worker is required to access the next uppermost level of the scaffolding to be erected. This is accomplished by first mounting at least one rail to the next uppermost level. One of the anchors is then removed from its rail at the first level, leaving the worker properly secured to the scaffolding with a single lanyard. The lanyard connected to the unmounted anchor is lengthened so that its anchor can be mounted to the rail at the next level. After the previously unmounted anchor is secured to the rail at the next uppermost level, the anchor that is still mounted to a rail at the first level is removed from its rail. At this point, the worker may climb the outside of the scaffolding to access the next level while remaining properly secured to the scaffolding. This process is then repeated after the assembly of the scaffolding is completed at each level. Thus, the fall protection system provides continuous fall protection during the entire erection process of a multi-level scaffolding structure.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a fall protection system and method that provides continuous fall protection to ensure the safety of a worker with minimal restriction of mobility throughout a relatively large work area.
Another object of the invention is to provide a fall protection system and method that enables unencumbered rotational and linear movement of a worker within a relatively large work area.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved safety belt for a fall protection system that allows 360 degrees rotation of a worker relative to one or more lanyards affixed to the belt.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved lanyard for a fall protection system that provides an adjustable length for various applications.
Finally, it is an object of the invention to provide a rail and movable anchor system for movably attaching a lanyard and thus a safety belt and worker to an elevated and exposed structure.
The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention, as well as additional embodiments thereof, are described further in the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.